Adjustable circumferential length lumbar sacral brace

ABSTRACT

An adjustable length brace includes an elongate body encircling portion having a free end having an adjustable length; and an end portion releasably attachable to the free end of the body encircling portion. The length of the brace may be adjusted by adjusting the length of the body encircling portion by adjusting the length of the free end of the body encircling portion, and connecting the end portion to the free end of the body encircling portion to adjust the length of the brace.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/746,392 filed on Dec. 27, 2012, and entitled ADJUSTABLECIRCUMFERENTIAL LENGTH LUMBAR SACRAL BRACE, incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to the field of orthopedic bracing. Moreparticularly, this disclosure relates to adjustable circumferentiallength lumbar sacral braces.

BACKGROUND

Improvement is desired in the provision of soft and flexible braces forsupporting the thoraco-lumbro-sacral spine. While conventional lumbarbelt type braces provide support, improvement is desired in providing asoft and flexible lumbo-sacral brace to which can be added desiredrigidity in an anterior, posterior and lateral portion of the beltadjacent the spine, and which is adjustable to fit a wide range of waistsizes circumferentially. The benefit of the flexibility of this bracedesign is a reduction of a large inventory of various sizes.

The disclosure relates to an adjustable brace system, and in particular,adjustable circumferential length lumbar sacral braces.

SUMMARY

The above and other needs are met by an adjustable circumferentiallength spinal brace that can be used with a variety of waist sizes toreduce the need to carry an inventory of different waist sized spinalbraces. The brace is also configured so that rigid or semi-rigidcomponents can be added to control movement in the entirethoraco-lumbo-sacral region of the spine. The brace includes a posteriorportion and a pair of opposite end portions releasably attachable to theposterior portion. The posterior portion may have a sleeve, pocket orflap into which is positioned an adjustable length member and a rigid orsemi-rigid stay.

To adjust the length of the adjustable length member, one or both freeends of the adjustable length member are folded back and the free endsare secured to the adjustable length member to maintain the foldedorientation of the free ends that are folded. Alternatively, cutting orremoval of the extra material may be done at the choice of the fitter ofthe brace. The brace may further include a tensioning system, such as acable tensioning system, on one or both of the end portions.

In another aspect, the disclosure provides an adjustable length bracethat includes an elongate body encircling portion having a free endhaving an adjustable length; and an end portion releasably attachable tothe free end of the body encircling portion. The length of the brace maybe adjusted by adjusting the length of the body encircling portion byadjusting the length of the free end of the body encircling portion, andconnecting the end portion to the free end of the body encirclingportion to adjust the length of the brace.

In yet another aspect, the disclosure provides an adjustable lengthbrace, including an elongate body encircling portion having oppositefree ends, each of the free ends having an adjustable length; and a pairof end portions, each of the end portions being releasably attachable toone of the free ends of the body encircling portion.

The length of the brace may be adjusted by adjusting the length of thebody encircling portion by adjusting the length of one or both of thefree ends of the body encircling portion, and connecting the endportions to the free ends of the body encircling portion to adjust thelength of the brace.

Braces according to the disclosure are advantageous as compared to priordevices. For example, other designs that also offer a modular nature ofadding components to extend support above the lumbo-sacral region tocover also the thoracic region have a single adjustment zone that opensin the posterior or back portion of the brace. These designs can easilypinch the skin or cause friction and post surgically cause pain at theincision site which is normally in that posterior region. Additionallyif post surgically drainage tubes have been placed in the incision siteor sites as is typical, that type of design could easily pull ordislodge the drainage tubes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages of the disclosure are apparent by reference to thedetailed description when considered in conjunction with the figures,which are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, whereinlike reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the severalviews, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of an adjustable brace according to thedisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the adjustable brace of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a frontal partially exploded view of the brace of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a rear partially exploded view of the brace of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a partially exploded view of a posterior component of thebrace of FIG.

1.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an adjustable member of the posteriorcomponent of the brace of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7 is a front plan view of an end portion of the brace of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 8 is a rear plan view of an end portion of the brace of FIG. 1 .

FIGS. 9 and 10 show adjustment of the adjustable member to adjust thelength of the brace of FIG. 1 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With initial reference to FIGS. 1-5 , there is shown an adjustablelength lumbar sacral brace 10. The brace 10 includes a posterior portion12 and a pair of opposite end portions 14 and 16 releasably attachableto the posterior portion 12.

While the disclosure describes the construction of a lumbo-sacral belt,it will be appreciated that rigid or semi-rigid components may be addedanteriorly, posteriorly, or laterally to the described brace to increasestability into the thoracic or even the cervical spine so that a patientcan be treated with one brace as they progress through different stagesof treatment or healing.

The brace 10 is configured for installation around the waist of a user.To accomplish this, the posterior portion 12 is placed adjacent aposterior of the spine of the user, with the ends 14 and 16 attached tothe posterior portion 12. The ends 14 and 16 are then urged forwardaround the sides of the user and are overlapped at the anterior of theuser and connected to one another to secure the brace in position.

The posterior portion 12 includes an adjustable length member 18 havingfree end portions 18 a and 18 b, to which the end portions 14 and 16connect. As described below, the length the adjustable length member 18is adjusted by folding one or more of the free end portions 18 a and 18b to adjust the length of the brace 18.

With reference to FIG. 5 , the posterior portion 12 further includes aflap, pocket, or sleeve 20. The adjustable length member 18 passesthrough the sleeve 20 and a rigid or semi-rigid stay 22 is positionedwithin the sleeve 20.

The adjustable length member 18 is an elongate and flexible memberpreferably made of a soft fabric surrounding a batting or padding, suchas a soft foam or spacer fabric. The soft fabric is desirably functionalas a loop material for matingly and releasably engaging a hook materialto facilitate a hook and loop type attachment with the end portions 14and 16, as explained below. The end portions 18 a and 18 b may be madeof the same material as the adjustable length member 18, the materialused to provide the exterior of the end portions 18 a and 18 b isdesirably functional as a loop material for matingly engaging hookmaterial.

To provide the brace 10 with the ability to adjust between waist sizesof from about 26 inches to about 60 inches, the adjustable length member18 has an overall length of about 30 inches, with each of the endportions 18 a and 18 b being about 15 inches in length. To facilitatefolding of the end portions 18 a and 18 b for adjustment of the lengthof the adjustable length member 18, each end portion 18 a and 18 b mayinclude defined fold or cut lines 18 c spaced a uniform distance apartof from about 1 to about 2 inches. To adjust the effective length ofeach of the end portions 18 a and 18 b, each of the end portions 18 aand 18 b may be folded or cut such as at a selected one of the lines 18c.

The sleeve 20 is configured to be positioned adjacent the posteriorlumbo-sacral region of the user and to define a channel 24 for receivingthe adjustable length member 18 and the stay 22. The sleeve 20 isconformable and padded for comfort to the user, and may be made of asoft fabric surrounding a soft foam or padding. The stay 22 is made of alightweight but substantially rigid material, such as a polyethylene orthe like, and configured to be positioned inside the channel 24 so as tobe adjacent the posterior of the user for providing support. The stay 22may include rivets or other fasteners, such as strips of hook material26 fixedly connected to the stay 22. The hook material 26 is configuredto matingly and releasably engage loop material of the adjustable lengthmember 18 proximate a central portion of the adjustable length member 18to affix the adjustable length member 18 to the stay 22. As will beappreciated, other fastening devices may be utilized.

The posterior portion 12 is assembled by positioning the adjustablelength member 18 lengthwise across the stay 22 and securing the centralportion of the member 18 to the stay 22 using the hook material 26. Thisassembly is then inserted into the channel 24 of the sleeve 20 so thatthe end portions 18 a and 18 b extend outwardly from the sleeve 20 alongthe posterior of the user. As will be appreciated, the adjustable lengthmember 18 could be exposed and not within an enclosing structure such asthe sleeve 20, but the sleeve 20 simply represents one manner ofconstruction.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 , the end portion 14 is provided by alength of flexible material, such as a soft fabric surrounding a paddingor soft foam. The end portion 14 includes a head 30 configured foroverlapping with a corresponding head of the end portion 16. The head 30includes a hand grip 32 on a front side thereof configured for graspingby the user and a hook/loop fastener 34 on a back side thereof formating with a corresponding loop/hook fastener of the end portion 14. Atail 36 of the end portion 14 is opposite the head 30 and may beprovided as a segment of hook material for matingly engaging the loopmaterial of the end portion 18 a of the adjustable length member 18. Aswill be appreciated, the materials may be switched so that the endportion 14 provides a loop material and the end portion 18 a of theadjustable length member 18 has hook material. Also, other fasteningstructures, such as buttons and apertures, may be used instead of hookand loop materials for releasably securing the end portions 18 a of theadjustable length member 18 to the end portions 14 and 16.

The end portion 16 is substantially identical to the end portion 14, andthe end portion 14 and the end portion 16 may each have a length ofabout 18 inches for use with the adjustable length member 18 having alength of about 30 inches to enable use with waist sizes ranging fromabout 26 inches to about 60 inches.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 , the length of the brace 10 may beadjusted by adjusting the length of the adjustable length member 18 andconnecting the end portions 14 and 16 to the member 18 to fix the lengthof the member 18, and thereby adjust the length of the brace 10. Thelength of the member 18 is at its maximum when the member 18 is fullyextended. To adjust the length of the member 18, one or both of the endportions 18 a and 18 b are folded back and against the adjustable lengthmember 18 and the end portions 14/16 are secured to the member 18 tomaintain the folded orientation of the end portion 14 and/or end portion16 that is folded. As mentioned previously, the end portions 18 a and 18b may be cut to a reduced length instead of being folded.

If desired, further adjustability of the brace 10 may be provided byincluding a tensioning system 40 on the end portion 14 or the endportion 16 or both. The tensioning system 40 is preferably a cabletensioning system and includes a cable 42, cable guides 44, and a cabletake-up 46. For use with the cable tensioning system 40, the end portion14 preferably includes an intermediate portion 48 of the end portion 14provided as by a single fabric layer so as to be able to be drawn up orcompacted in length without undue bulk resulting. The cable 42 spans theintermediate portion and taking up or shortening the cable 42 using thecable take-up 46 compacts or shortens the intermediate portion 48 toenable an additional degree of adjustment of the length of the brace.Other tensioning systems may be used, such as ratchet or otherincremental adjustment devices.

In this regard, the adjustment of the adjustable length member 18 as byadjustment of the end portion 18 a or the end portion 18 b or bothenables macro adjustment of the length of the brace, e.g., adjustmentsof one inch or more. An additional degree of micro adjustment, e.g.,adjustment of less than an inch, is provided by the tensioning system40. A suitable device to provide the cable take-up 46 are cable reeldevices available under the name BOA from Boa Technology, Inc. ofDenver, Colorado, and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,954,204 and7,992,261, incorporated by reference in their entireties.

As will be appreciated, spinal braces according to the disclosureadvantageously enable adjustment of the length of the spinal brace in amanner that provides adjustment at a location that is remote from theposterior or back portion of the brace. Also, the adjustment of thelength of the brace is accomplished in a manner that avoids pinching ofthe skin of the user, and avoids movement of the posterior of the brace.This is advantageous to avoid undesirable dislodgment of drainage tubesor the like located at the incision site of the spine.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments for this disclosurehas been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the preciseform disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible inlight of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and describedin an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of thedisclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable one ofordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure in variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations arewithin the scope of the disclosure as determined by the appended claimswhen interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they arefairly, legally, and equitably entitled.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An adjustable length brace, comprising: anadjustable length elongate one-piece waist encircling portion havingopposite free ends, each of the free ends having a length, the firstfree end being folded to adjust the length of the first free end and thesecond free end being folded to adjust the length of the second free endand to enable adjustment of the length of the one-piece waist encirclingportion; and first and second discrete end portions, each of the endportions being one-piece and made of a length of a flexible and foldablematerial, and the length of each of the end portions being shorter thanthe one-piece waist encircling portion, the first discrete end portionbeing directly attachable via hook and loop to the folded first end ofthe one-piece waist encircling portion and the second discrete endportion being directly attachable via hook and loop to the folded secondfree end of the one-piece waist encircling portion, the first and thesecond discrete end portions being directly connectable to one anotherin an over-lapping relationship.